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It's been called the Most Miserable City in America. We beg to differ.By Ellen McCarthyWashington Post Staff Writer Sunday

I saw it first by night. A metropolis unveiled in viewfinder snapshots through the smudged windows of an elevated train. Gothic towers crowded close, proud detail etched on gray stone. A beaming stadium full of red-capped baseball fans, its front side left open as if to console the devoted others it couldn't quite hold. A neon neighborhood of revelers, trying their luck with the cards and with each other. A river that bounced fractured glints of the city back toward the heavens.

It was beguilingly authentic -- gritty and romantic -- and it was decided: I would side with Mary.

Mary, the smiling lady of the hotel lobby, not Alexandro, the cab driver who brought me to her.

"Is this your first time in Detroit?" Mary inquired. "You're going to love it! It's just like Paris."

Minutes earlier Alexandro laughed incredulously when I told him what I'd come here to find.

"Happiness?" he scoffed. "I can't really see it. Everybody's just so miserable."

Which is what Forbes magazine said, too; the Most Miserable City in America, it claimed in a report earlier this year. "Imagine living in a city with the country's highest rate for violent crime and the second-highest unemployment rate," the article proposes, by way of introduction.

But after riding the looping downtown train -- slickly named the People Mover -- and stepping into the Greektown section of the city, where I was met by saxophones singing from opposite corners and a scene that looked like the quaint, Hollywood version of a 1940s gambling town, it was over.

Alexandro said he bought his house for $200. Really $1,700, after taxes. He didn't mention the figure as a bragging point, but it started to seem like an enticing investment plan. That was just my price point, and who wouldn't want their own pied-á-terre in this Paris of Lake Erie?

I could be happy here. I already was.

* * *

Dawn broke from the east over the cerulean Detroit River, while my buddy Chris drove in from the west.

I had an itinerary I was sure we couldn't complete, and it began with breakfast at a classic dive in the city's Irish enclave, Corktown.

"It looks like a nuclear bomb went off," Chris assessed, after picking me up from my downtown hotel.

The streets were idle and empty. So many of the buildings that were hauntingly handsome at night were sad in daylight; windowless, hollow and crumbling. Lot after lot laid bare, covered with slabs of broken concrete or half-dead weeds. Warehouses, storefronts, office buildings left to rot, sealed with plywood, disfigured by graffiti.

The restaurant, when we found it, was closed for the day. The nearby coffee shop lauded in our guidebook? Closed. The barbecue place was in business, but not open. An Irish pub up the way would serve us something from the fryer, but it seemed too early to sit in a dingy, smoke-filled room.

My stomach ached, and not with hunger.

Finally, we saw a diner with its fluorescent lights on: the Brooklyn Street Grill.

"Good. I'm getting bacon," Chris sighed as we pulled in.

"Hey, guys," our waitress said, as a garbage-bag-robed dishwasher squeezed past her through the narrow aisle. "Just want to let you know we're out of bacon."

* * *

When Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan priest, first visited the area now called Detroit with French explorers in 1679, the lush landscape inspired him to write that "Nature alone could not have made, without help of Art, so charming a prospect."

Settlers, led by a man named Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, agreed, turning the region into a French outpost and major fur trading port. In the early 19th century, Detroit's leaders chose to model the city's streets after Pierre L'Enfant's hub-and-spoke design for Washington. By the turn of the century, Henry Ford had built his first automobile, setting in motion a revolution that would alter the lives of people everywhere and turn Detroit into a world-class city with a rocketing economy.

For a while.

In 1950, Detroit had a population of 1.84 million; today, fewer than 834,000 people live in the city. The number of autoworkers in the area has been halved in the past 30 years, contributing to its 7.9 percent unemployment rate in April. The comparable national rate that month was 4.8 percent. Along with that violence rate (1,251 crimes annually for every 100,000 citizens), Detroit carries the weight of 135 Superfund sites.

Forbes didn't feign the city's anguish.

* * *

After decent omelets at the Brooklyn Street Grill, we hustled up the city's main artery, Woodward Avenue, toward the Motown Historical Museum.

Which we missed. Which is easy to do, because it's really just a house (okay, a cluster of houses) with a second-story sign declaring the place "Hitsville U.S.A."

It's the right name for the place. The Commodores, the Supremes, the Four Tops, the Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson. "My Girl," "Baby Love," "Just My Imagination," "You Can't Hurry Love" and on and on. In less than a decade, so much of that greatness came through these walls, Berry Gordy's factory of singing sensations. Here's the desk where Diana Ross worked as a secretary to support her singing career. The basement recording studio where the Temptations practiced their moves. The square echo chamber cut into a second-story ceiling to generate perfect vocal reverberations.

"Can I get a volunteer?" asked our guide, who led the 50-minute tour with all the panache Gordy would expect of a performer being groomed for the spotlight. And when one brave lady stepped under the hole and belted it out -- " Ain't no mountain high enough . . ." -- the room seemed to quake.

"The teenagers were just ready for it," a disc jockey from the era recalled in a documentary on Motown shown at the end of the tour. The first time she'd heard the music, she walked away with a singular assessment: "This," she said, "was happy singing."

"Come on, people, you look like you're sitting in a library," scolded Esther Gordy Edwards, bursting through the doors of the small screening room in three-inch heels and a giant wig of curls. "Dancing in the Streets" was playing, and Berry's sister, who runs the museum, had a command: "Put your hands together."

When the room emptied, I asked Ms. Gordy where we might find Motown music on a Saturday night in Detroit.

"Well, there's a cafe down the street," she said after a thoughtful pause, "where they play it in the background while you eat."

* * *

Our next two stops, less than a mile apart, swung us to opposite poles of the culture spectrum: the Detroit Institute of Arts, a majestic, marble-encased collection of more than 100 meticulously curated galleries, and the Majestic, a bowling alley.

Actually, it's a bowling alley/bar/pizza place/concert venue/pool hall/swank restaurant. Detroit claims to be home to the most registered bowlers in America, and the Majestic claims to be home to the nation's oldest active bowling center.

At the DIA, which has just had a $158 million renovation, we explored room after room of works provocatively organized by theme, rather than artist or period. Depictions of the sea are placed among depictions of the sea. Same goes for landscapes, myths, deities and children and royals. At the heart of the billion-dollar collection, which includes pieces by van Gogh, Matisse and Rodin, is Diego Rivera's famous "Detroit Industry," two massive murals that simultaneously celebrate manufacturing's power and process and decry its potential to do harm when that power is abused.

Down the street, the Majestic was packed with birthday-party bowlers, so we decamped to its bar to watch Detroiters watch sports. The Tigers and Red Wings were both in action, and our new best friend, Nathan Keeler, was manning the television remotes and pulling beers.We're here looking for happiness, we explained, and some decent evening entertainment.Keeler, a scruffy-haired 29-year-old, said the Majestic is hosting a battle of the bands tonight. But, he adds, "Good live music? You're not going to find it here."

So, uh, the talent's not so awesome?

"Awful," he barked, eyes rolling back as he shakes his head.

Okay, what about happiness? Can Forbes's misery assessment really be accurate?

"That's pretty much true," Keeler nodded, moving on to the next customer. A few minutes later he returned with a reassessment.

"It's not so bad here," he said. "We have fun. There's lots to do here -- we've got a lot of hospitals, we've got a lot of schools. . . . "

Those charms aside, Keeler said he eventually wants to leave Detroit. Maybe head somewhere new, like North Carolina.

An hour earlier at the DIA, a boy, maybe 4, stood looking up at a panel of stained-glass windows by John La Farge. The word "Faith" sat at the top of one. "Hope" at another.

"Mmm, that's complicated," his father whispered, before dropping to a knee.

"Hope is when you think about the future," he explained. "And wish for good things."

* * *

We ate beneath the Greektown Casino that night, at a place called Pegasus Taverna. Every five minutes or so, a plate of cheese was lit on fire and a server matter-of-factly called out "Opa!"

I wish we had ordered more than one. It's called saganaki and it's bliss-by-dairy-product: salty, melted and not nearly enough for two people (assuming I'm one of the two).

Above us, slot machines beeped and flashed, inviting what city officials had hoped would be a new engine of economic growth. There are three casinos now, plus a fourth just across the river in Windsor, Ontario. So as gambling-on-a-budget destinations go, Detroit should rank right up there.

Hard to say, though, if casinos are the force that will bring collective happiness back to the city. They don't do too much for me, so we hopped a cab over to Nancy Whiskey's, a Corktown dive known for its blues.

All around it was overgrown grass, streetlights blinking on and off and an eerie absence of movement, sound or structure.

Inside, Nancy Whiskey's was hopping. People were jammed wall-to-wall in the wood-paneled tavern, ordering cans of Miller Lite and dancing between tables as the raucous five-piece band played Van Morrison and "Mustang Sally" from the stage.

If there was sadness in the city, it wasn't at Nancy Whiskey's that night.

* * *

Knowing it would at least be open for business, we swung by the MGM Grand, Detroit's newest casino, for breakfast the next day.

Just outside the downtown nucleus, the upscale casino was a quarter-full by midmorning, its smoke ventilators humming in the background while the employees of glitzy boutiques unlocked their doors.

Our next stop was Hamtramck, a city within the city recommended by the guidebooks and our man Nathan from the Majestic. ("It's got the most bars per capita in the country -- or something like that," he'd offered.) And my grandmother had lived in the area during college and had told stories, later, about its cosmopolitan verve.

Hamtramck was historically a Polish enclave and is now an immigrant melting pot. It is also a neighborhood, like so many others, in decline. Closed department stores, seedy corner shops, run-down fast-food huts. In the place my grandmother found thrilling, we couldn't find a reason to stop.

For the couple of hours that remained before my return flight, we headed to Belle Isle, a storied city park that covers the length of a 982-acre island in the middle of the river. Designed by the same landscape architect responsible for Central Park in New York, the isle is gorgeous: dotted with elegant fountains, a domed conservatory and aquarium, a stately yacht club and picnic areas that were being well used as we passed through its drivable loop.

Then we stopped driving and started watching other people do it. In the center of this serene patch of earth is a racetrack, and on it cars were lined up by the dozen, waiting for timed runs through an intricate, cone-lined course. Tires screeched as mesmerized kids hung their elbows over the fence, necks craning with every hot rod's turn.

We pulled ourselves away to walk to the edge of the island facing the city's skyline. From a distance, Detroit looked as it had in the dark: beautiful.

Happiness here was the intention and, in truth, it was met. For two days we had great times in Detroit. But the misery gurgling through the metropolis was undeniable.

I learned later that the city's seal comprises two Latin phrases, "Speramus Meliora" and "Resurget Cineribus." The lines were chosen after a fire ravaged the city in 1805. Together they mean: "We hope for better things. It will rise from the ashes."

There's a lot to be said for that kind of hope -- for thinking about the future, wishing for good things.

Three upcoming events will allow you to bicycle, kayak and graze your way through Detroit's riverfront and east side.

The Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative, the folks who are taking on the exciting new Conner Creek Greenway project, is helping to run the events.

This Saturday, June 28, Detroit Bikes will host the Jazzin' on Jefferson/Conner Creek Greenway Ride, which will tour the east side and Grosse Pointe. The free ride begins at the Detroit Synergy Booth at Jazzin' on Jefferson, which is near the intersection of Jefferson and Chalmers, just before 10 a.m.

It'll be a leisurely ride, including a tour of some Detroit automotive history and a chance to try out a Sanders' Hot Fudge Sundae. No registration is required, but you will need your helmet. More information is posted at www.detroitsynergy.org/projects/detroitbikes.

Next up: a little free kayaking fun. On July 24 from 6-8 p.m. you'll be able to try one out in the pond at Maheras Gentry Park at the foot of the Conner Creek Greenway at Clairpointe south of East Jefferson. It's presented by the Riverside Kayak Connection, and information on local places to live will also be available.

Finally, on Aug. 12, you can take a guided kayaking tour of the east riverfront from 6-8 p.m., including Belle Isle, local canals and the RiverWalk at Gabriel Richard Park. This one will cost $15 an hour, but it's likely to be lovely. Meet at Maheras Gentry Park and RSVP in advance to riversidekayak@ameritech.net.

Two Oakland County auto suppliers plan to invest $47.2 million in expansions at facilities in Farmington Hills and Rochester Hills.

Mahle Industries Inc., a subsidiary of German parent company Mahle GmbH, chose to expand its North American technical center in Farmington Hills over a competing site in Tennessee.

Mahle makes automotive and heavy-duty engine components.The company will invest $27.6 million for the 45,000 square foot expansion. The company was granted a $2.5 million, state tax credit over 7 years by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority and a local tax abatement.

The expansion is expected to create 155 jobs with the company and 169 indirect jobs.

Rayconnect Inc. plans to invest $14.5 million in a new plastics injection molding assembly plant and headquarters in Rochester Hills. It will receive a 7-year, $2.5 million state tax credit from MEGA, which was awarded to influence the company to choose Michigan for its facility over a competing site in South Carolina. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. said it would also provide $120,000 in job training assistance funds.

Rochester Hills is considering a tax abatement of $862,000 to support Rayconnect’s expansion, according to the MEDC.

The facility is expected to retain 360 jobs in Michigan, including 148 at Rayconnect and its parent company A. Raymond Inc., a global supplier of fastener systems.

DTE Energy Co. is bringing its expertise in electric-car research to a U.S. Department of Energy partnership.The company is joining the DOE’s FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, a public-private effort to advance technologies that lead to reduced oil consumption and increased energy efficiency in passenger vehicles. The partnership’s scope includes fuel cells, hybrids and plug-in hybrid vehicles.“We are excited to have this opportunity to work with universities, the auto industry, governmental agencies and other energy companies to develop the vehicles and infrastructure that will give drivers the performance and overall experience that they expect while significantly reducing the vehicle’s impact on the environment,” said Knut Simonsen, senior vice president of DTE energy resources, in a news release.

HOLLAND, Mich. (AP) -- Algae grown from sewage could be used to produce biofuels, says a company seeking a $7 million state grant to help prove it. Representatives of Bloomfield Hills-based Sequest L.L.C. are considering Holland's wastewater and coal plant as a site for their project.

It would divert carbon dioxide from the power plant and combine it with treated wastewater to grow algae.The algae would be converted to biofuels and other uses.

Bob Truxell, the company's chief executive, said the technology could help transform the world's energy system."We think it's very economically feasible," Truxell told The Grand Rapids Press.Four sites are under consideration, but Truxell said he likes Holland because of the proximity of the coal and wastewater plants and a planned Michigan State University research center."Later on, the algae strain will evolve and we will need the genetic help that is available at the research facility," Truxell said. "I personally am very excited about Holland. I hope we proceed there."The company is seeking funds from a pool of $18 million in a proposal now before the Legislature. It comes from a program announced in January by Gov. Jennifer Granholm called Centers of Energy Excellence.

A Michigan State University official said the project is daunting but worth pursuing in a world worried about global warming and desperate for new fuel sources."Clearly there are lot of questions, but we have to balance those questions with a whole lot of potential," said Steven Pueppke, director of the university's Office of Biobased Technologies.

As the U.S. real estate market falls further into decline, some cities where properties are particularly cheap are seeing a strange revival. In Detroit, where foreclosed houses are found on nearly every block, foreign and domestic investors are buying bargain homes in bulk as long-term investments.

Wayne County, Mich. — home to Detroit — has been hit especially hard by the mortgage crisis.The county has inherited thousands of unwanted properties, leaving plot after plot of vacant land. So a nonprofit group pitched an idea: Take that unused land, and grow food for the needy.This year, the group — called Urban Farming — will take 20 derelict properties in Wayne County, then pull weeds, lay fresh topsoil, and plant fruits and vegetables.The gardens aren't fenced off, so anyone can wander through and take their pick — for free. Any leftover produce is donated to food banks.

'A Huge Boon'

Neighborhoods in Wayne County are littered with boarded-up homes and vacant land that's covered in knee-high grass. Demolished apartment complexes have left empty lots the size of football fields.That's why Urban Farming founder Taja Seville says Detroit was the perfect place to start working on farming projects. The city has long suffered from a glut of available property, and last year it topped the nation in foreclosures. Wayne County now has about 7,000 idle plots. Seville saw that as an opportunity."I've lived in L.A., N.Y., Connecticut, London, Minneapolis, and been around a lot, seen a lot of cities. But I've never seen these long stretches of unused land," says Seville.Under the 20-plot pilot program, volunteers will tend the garden, and the city of Detroit will pitch in water.Wayne County Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz says that's a huge boon."It won't cost the county anything. We're donating the land. If a person wants to purchase the lot, it will be for sale. Perhaps it will be an inducement," says Wojtowicz.

'I Want to Garden There'

Wojtowicz says the biggest benefit, though, is less blight in the neighborhood. And residents say that, unlike abandoned houses, the gardens aren't targeted by vandals.Detroit resident Eric Parrish says that those who live around the gardens respect the farming projects. "They see we're doing something to help the community," he says.Parrish says he recently started gardening with Urban Farming because it helps turn things around in his city."You can tell people are struggling. So when I do see these plots of land it makes me say, 'I want to garden there,' " he says.Parrish says most people are grateful for the gardens, although at first a few were concerned they would attract pests.Turns out that urban farms do attract people, says Gail Carr, one of Detroit's city managers. She has houses boarded up nearly every day and sees what a dramatic difference the gardens have on communities."People are coming out of their homes who wouldn't come out under other circumstances because they didn't think there was still a community or a neighbor or a friendly person nearby," she says.Wojtowicz says the county is watching the program and hopes to expand it.Seville isn't waiting to expand. She plans to plant hundreds of gardens in at least a dozen other struggling cities this season.

To learn more about Urban Farming, their locations, upcoming events, and how to get involved click here for their official website